21 | Eclectic Witch | Gaelic Pagan | Spooky babe.

Celtic Deities: Abarta | 21-08-16

​Abarta, – his name meaning ‘doer of deeds’, – was one ofTuatha Dé Danann (a supernatural race in Irish mythology, they are thought to represent the main deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland) and is associated withFionn mac Cumhaill.

He ruled over the Power of Jealousy and teamwork. He is an ambitious and mischievous God and often seen as cruel (compare His nature with that of Loki).

A Tale of Trickery:

Abarta appeared at Raith Amu on Allen Hill, the location of Fionn mac Cumhaill and his elite force of Milesian warriors, the Fianna. Once there, under the guise of a torpid man, He offered himself to Mac Cumhaill as a Giolla Deacair (a servant) shortly after he had succeeded his Father as leader of the Fianna.

As a gesture of goodwill, Abarta gifted a magickal grey steed upon the warriors. The horse granted Him the powers of invisibility, teleportation and prophecy, but when mounted by any one of the warriors, it remained stationary.
Only when mounted by fourteen Fianna and Abarta, did the steed move. It galloped to the Otherworld where the Tuatha Dé Danann had been driven by the Milesians.

Fionn mac Cumhaill with the aid of Farauch (a magician) and Foltor, the best tracker in Ireland, acquired a magickal boat that allowed them to travel into the Otherworld and, using Foltor’s abilities, navigate the realm until they found and secured the safe return of the Fianna.

Abarta, to satisfy honour, gave fourteen of his most beautiful women to Fionn mac and his men. Amongst those, was his own daughter Tasha. He was then dragged back to Ireland by the grey steed, holding onto it’s tail.